04-11-2006 – USA Today – Idol finalists rock in Queen’s arena

By Bill Keveney

ANAHEIM, Calif. — After a performance before 30 million American Idol viewers each week, a rehearsal in front of a few dozen might seem like a yawner.

But this practice took place one afternoon last week in a cavernous arena with members of ’70s stadium anthem king Queen. It gave finalists a taste of the big time and increased their anticipation for their own Idol arena tour this summer.

“They’re one of the greatest rock bands of all time,” said Taylor Hicks, who, even as the eldest finalist at 29, wasn’t born when Queen hit the charts.

“Knowing they’re going to have 20,000 people here, you could think of (the fans) screaming at the top of their lungs,” Hicks said after practicing. He’ll sing Crazy Little Thing Called Love on Idol’s stage when finalists take on Queen tonight (Fox, 8 ET/PT).

As other finalists sat with Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, the lead singer on Queen’s current U.S. tour — its first in 24 years — Kellie Pickler was on the Arrowhead Pond stage, bathed in a single spotlight.

“Is that right? I couldn’t hear myself,” Pickler asked after a countrified take of the late Freddie Mercury’s melancholy solo in Bohemian Rhapsody. Guitarist Brian May gave her tips on holding the notes when singing the famous lyric, “Nothing really matters to me.”

May and drummer Roger Taylor, whose Queen hits with Mercury included Another One Bites the Dust and Somebody to Love, said they initially were reticent about getting involved with a pop reality contest but were pleasantly surprised none of the finalists killed the band’s songs. “I thought they had some depth and some soul and some rock and roll,” Taylor said.

One of the trickiest elements was adjusting to Idol’s truncated song arrangements, he said.

Band advice ranged from the immediate — explaining how to “feel” a song — to the long-term — that Idol is just one way to build a musical career, May said. There were musical tweaks, as when he advised Ace Young to try We Will Rock You in the key of E instead of D.

Rodgers talked to singers about breathing on stage and shared some of his soothing tea, called Throat Coat.

May and Taylor have listened to many auditions for the Queen musical, We Will Rock You. May dislikes harsh public critiques. “When Simon Cowell’s on there discussing intimate details and being very negative, that would be OK for me in private. That people have to go through that (in public), I find difficult to watch,” he said.

But Queen knows tens of millions do watch, including potential new fans. “We’re not blind to that,” Taylor said.